Coachella, Stagecoach Festivals Officially Postponed Due to Coronavirus, New Dates in October 2020

UPDATE: The 2020 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival and Stagecoach Festival have been postponed until October.

A message from Goldenvoice came through on Tuesday afternoon:

At the direction of the County of Riverside and local health authorities, we must sadly confirm the rescheduling of Coachella and Stagecoach due to COVID-19 concerns. While this decision comes at a time of universal uncertainty, we take the safety and health of our guests, staff and community very seriously. We urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials.

Coachella will now take place on October 9, 10 and 11 and October 16, 17 and 18, 2020. Stagecoach will take place on October 23, 24 and 25, 2020. All purchases for the April dates will be honored for the rescheduled October dates. Purchasers will be notified by Friday, March 13 on how to obtain a refund if they are unable to attend.

Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you in the desert this fall.

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— Coachella (@coachella) March 10, 2020

As the dialog surrounding the virus has accelerated in recent days, many began to wonder how it would affect the music industry, and we’re seeing it now. Monday night, Pearl Jam postponed its entire upcoming North American tour (which was just about completely sold out) due to concerns, and that same evening Billboard reported about the potential rescheduling, which was made official on Tuesday.

Obviously, organizers would be hoping to secure as many acts from the originally scheduled Coachella and Stagecoach events for any new dates, but the logistics of that seem daunting … and should enough massive, big-name acts on the bills be unable to participate in new dates, that might lead to cancellation.

Just last week, South By Southwest was canceled due to coronavirus — a massive hit to the infrastructure of Austin, but a necessary decision based on the expected influx of tens of thousands of visitors to the area. And earlier last week, Miami Ultra Music Festival made headlines for postponing its 2020 event for the same reason, as did international concerts from the likes of Whitesnake, Green Day, New Order and others.